This invention relates generally to techniques for cooling integrated circuits.
Integrated circuits may develop heat in the course of operation. This heat may result in device failure. It may also adversely affect the performance of the overall system, including the electronic device. Therefore, it is desirable to cool the electronic device and systems using the electronic device.
To this end, a variety of cooling techniques have been used for cooling electronic devices. A thermoelectric cooler generates cool temperatures proximate to an electric component. The thermoelectric cooler may operate in conjunction with a heat sink. In such cases, there is a need for techniques for joining the heat sink, the thermoelectric cooler, and the component to be cooled.
Because the heat sink may have relatively little rigidity, simply bolting the parts together may result in bending moments at the edges, which may result in bowing of the heat sink. Such bowing of the heat sink may result in insufficient thermal interface between the heat sink and the thermoelectric cooler. That insufficient thermal interface results in less effective cooling. Using a thicker heat sink base is one solution. However, the resistance to thermal dissipation is a function of the thickness of the heat sink base.
Thus, there is a need for better ways to form thermoelectric cooling devices for electronic circuits.